Holler: Now ‘good sources' enter Harvin saga

John Holler

03/10/2013

The Percy Harvin saga continues with another report of his discontent. Nothing has really changed, however, as Harvin's status has been precarious for quite some time.

A local Twin Cities media columnist, Sid Hartman, is reporting the Vikings are planning to cut ties with Percy Harvin. The short and the long of it is that Harvin wants to be traded and doesn't want to remain with the Vikings.

Before your Harvin jerseys become de facto lighter fluid to get a bonfire flame kicking up, let's climb in the Wayback Machine and go where people implore, "Never mind the man behind the curtain."

There are certain realities that exist in the 21st Century NFL – more times than not, disgruntled players tend to get "more disgruntled" before their disgruntlement ends. Sometimes franchises roll the dice on the risk/reward of potential greatness.

When the Vikings drafted Harvin, they struck gold. They knew it long before Harvin or his agent even considered a potential hostage standoff. He has the elusive "it factor." There is no accepted definition of "it" other than the accepted mythology that you know "it" when you see "it." Randy Moss had "it" like few others. Adrian Peterson has "it" exponentially. Harvin has "it."

Considering that the three players mentioned on that short list encompass 15 years of Vikings history and two of them are in their prime, the fatal flaw in Hot Linotype's theory is that the Vikings hold the hammer. That's never good.

When the announcement was made that the Vikings selected Harvin, I was one in a throng of media types that descended on the stage where Zygi Wilf, Brad Childress and Rick Spielman were finishing up preaching to the choir about the benefits of having Harvin as a member of the organization.

Back then, Hartman's sources told him the Vikings weren't going to take Harvin because of his off-the-field issues and he was incensed that his sources were wrong. Now his "good sources" say Harvin wants to be traded, but Harvin and his agent aren't talking about the situation.

Back then, Harvin put ink to paper on his rookie contract. At the time, it was cool. He was putting money in the bank. The fact he has surpassed his contract is an anticipated happy occurrence from an organizational standpoint. For Percy, not so much. He's done what the Vikings thought he would and then some. "And them some" means a lot.

It seems ironic that the "breaking news" comes on the opening of the window for agents to talk with teams about potential contract offers.

The simple truth is that the Vikings currently have a Hall of Fame type difference-maker under contract in a game that is typified more than any other by the construct of team. The Vikings hold all the cards.

The source of this "breaking news" is an anomaly unto itself in that it could have legitimately been intentionally "leaked" by either side. If the leak came from the Harvin side, it's directed at the bottom half of the first round – teams convinced they're "one player" away from being a Super Bowl team. If the "leak" came from the Vikings, it's putting those in the Sweet 16 on notice – Percy comes with a price.

The future of the Vikings and Harvin is no different today than it was Friday – before the window for free agent chatter was opened or not. Harvin is available for the taking. Still. Again. But now it's only for the right price – whether a mutually leaked story has surfaced or not. Serious bidders only.

Does Percy stay? Does Percy go? Nothing has changed. It has only served to put 31 teams on notice … as if that hadn't already been going on.